Moeyo's Best of Hip 2012

Supreme anime otaku fandom site Moeyo's Best of 2012 lists continues, following up yesterday's recap of the best breasts of 2012 with their Best of Hip list posted today.  Of course, "hip" to the Japanese means "dat azz" to us Western devils.  The results, as follows:

1)  Manaka Komaki Physical Education (Pool) version from To Heart2 1/6 scale by Beat

2)  Mischievous Thief Xiaomei from Shining Hearts 1/6 scale by Kotobukiya

3)  Mischievous Thief Xiaomei from Shining Hearts 1/6 scale by Kotobukiya

4)  Imari Kurumi from Bible Black 1/6 scale by Daiki Kougyo

5)  Charlotte Dunois Bunny Style from Infinite Stratos 1/7 scale by Kotobukiya

6)  Mischievous Thief Xiaomei from Shining Hearts 1/6 scale by Kotobukiya

7)  Ichijo Manami from Menkui! by Orchid Seed

8)   Alisa Ilynichna Amiera from God Eater Burst 1/7 scale by Plum

9)  Daydream Collection vol. 02 Woman Teacher Mari MANGA version original character 1/6 scale by Kaitendoh

10)  Black Hanekawa from Bakemonogatari 1/8 scale by Kotobukiya

A dominating performance by Kotobukiya's Xiao Mei that somehow doesn't result in a first-place finish is the upset of the year; I certainly had the Black Cat the leader in the clubhouse, with Max Factory's catsuit-clad duo of Maria Takayama and Kobato Hasegawa from Haganai as second and third. 

More Tony Taka Figures? More Tony Taka Figures.

Shogun Taka's all-out assault on the savings accounts of otaku everywhere shows no signs of relenting, and, miracle of miracles, they're not all from the Shining series...most, but not all.

First, Tony's artwork has frequently graced the cover of E2 Magazine and the magazine's mook series Girls Girls Girls!  Tony made the cover of the third volume of the mook with this sukumizu-clad maid:

Thank you to bedetheque.com for the image.

Sculptor Takeshi Miyagawa has created a 3D version for purchase, which has just recently debuted on AmiAmi:

This is not the first time that Miyagawa has tackled Tony's cover girls in scale form:  back in March 2010, the catgirl maids of the first Girls Girls Girls! were rendered in 1/6 scale with remarkable results:

Thank you to baudattitude.com for the image.

Photo montage from amiami.com

I regret to say that I will refrain from ordering this piece--it seems that the figure version seems a little chunky, overly endowed in the chest.  The colors of the figure seem completely off, as the skin tone seems far too pale and the hair color looks purple, rather than the black of the original, all in all devoid of the warmth of the original girl.  The facial expression somehow lacks the coquettish charm of the original illustration, and the clunky spoon dangling from her mouth is a poor representation of Tony's slender sculpt.  I'm very disappointed, because I truly enjoy Tony and Miyagawa's first collaboration, but this is far too removed from the original to abide by.

Much more to my interest was this image of a magazine scan shared by Tomopop presumably showcasing the first in the newest line of Shining girls in swimsuits, starting with foxy handmaiden Rouna.  I have not declined any of this line of figures save for the Urayakuhime version, which was a miserable and blatant reskin of a previous Blanc Neige, and will most definitely order this once it's available. 

From a definite no, to a definite yes, to a definite maybe, the folks at Volks displayed a 1/7 scale maquette of Amil from Shining Hearts, heretofore unreleased in figure form.  I love Amil's character design and am very intrigued, but I have yet to purchase one of Volks' Moekore PLUS figures and wonder if she'll fit in well with the previous releases of the series from Kotobukiya.  Thanks to the good folks at Akiba Hobby and Moeyo for the following images:

Tony Taka's Rouna by Kotobukiya

Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?

Released in late February 2012, Rouna is the sixth figure released by Kotobukiya from the JRPG Shining Hearts, with character creation by the one and only Tony Taka.  Coming in at a very generous 1/8 scale, Rouna measures 10" tall with her fixed base and requires about six inches of shelf space as a non-castoffable, no-assembly-required piece. She is depicted in a long black maid's uniform with actual fabric for her stockings and the covering of her decolletage. 

Original illustration from Tony Taka.  Thanks to konachan.com for the image.

Rouna is an attendant to the game world's Princess Rufina, to be released in figure form in late April, and one can see she scratches a lot of otaku itches, between her honey blonde hair, kemonomimi and tail and her maid uniform.  I had a lot of difficulty photographing Rouna in an effort to get her to match the pose in Tony's work, but ultimately I understood that for once in my life it was not my fault.  It is not difficult to pick out several significant differences between the original illo and her figure form, which I personally find quite disappointing.

Rouna enters her surprise birthday party.

In Tony's original drawing, I see Rouna as assertive, her expression steeled and ready.  Her posture suggests to me that she is about to act, about to attack, prepared to defend her charge.  Conversely, the figure suggests more of a reaction, as though she's been caught somewhat off-guard.  Her expression is one of timidity and surprise compared to Tony's original, her shoulders seem to be pulling back rather than forward, and she almost seems like she's struggling with her garments moreso than anything.

The sculptor seems to offer Rouna a bit more modesty than Tony did, as her chest is covered more, and her skirt is not hiked up nearly as high.  Also, the figure presents Rouna with a bit more thickness, more sturdiness to her frame--compare the hipline and torso of the figure compared to the original illustration, and the thickness of her leg.  To say that the figure is reasonably proportioned compared to the fantasy-girl measurements that Tony presents would be fair, but not necessarily what people pay the price of admission for.

On the figure, the weight and heft of Rouna's dress and apron seem to be a bit more realistically presented, again to the general demerit of the piece itself.  Look at that illustration--the flow of the fabric suggests a strong, confident, active move to hike up her hem.  On the figure, it seems like the sculptor imagined Rouna reacting to a surprise attack, like she was caught flatfooted and did not gather enough of her skirt to access the knives she stores in the loops of her garter. 

Impractical?  Yes.  Sexy?  Yes also.

Under Rouna's skirt, Kotobukiya took one of the hugest risks a figure maker can--they used actual nylon fabric for Rouna's fishnet stockings.  It is very very easy for such a move to look simply awful, simply because it violates the relationship the figure has with its space.  When 90 percent of the figure's garments are PVC plastic, it is easy to have the viewer's expectations jarred by the other 10 percent--it's almost like an Uncanny Valley sort of reaction, where the fabric simply doesn't look like it belongs in the same world that the figure does.  Gladly, this is avoided on this application--I credit the fineness of the fishnet used for this.  She sports plain white panties with no gratuitous overworking of her anatomy, and her garters serving as a holder for her switchblades are presented in PVC. 

Rouna is somewhat plain from the back--again, the heaviness of her dress seems to be in play here as it hangs somewhat flatly behind her despite the hiking up in front.  Her long, foxy tail is incorporated nicely in the back.  Her tail itself I find somewhat disappointing--as a whole it just seems too blunt and lacking texture and volume, especially when compared to the furry frayed end depicted in the original illustration.  There are two majorly noticeable seams in the figure; first, where the crown of her head and her ears meet her headband, and down the sides of her head; second, the mold for the tail features a pronounced seam--the sculptor tried to incorporate it into the flow of the tail, and as such it doesn't show up quite as horribly black like the worst seams do, but it is quite obvious where the two halves of the mold came together for the piece.  Observe:

This couldn't have been on the bottom of the tail where no one would see it?  Really?

Perhaps the most egregious of this figure's faults lies with the paint job applied to the hem of Rouna's uniform.  Observe the original illustration, where there's a clear, crisp end to the black dress, with a ruffled white underlayer. How--HOW--does that turn into this hot mess?

This would get you kicked off of Project Runway.

Now, it's certainly true that discussing the negative is much easier than the positive, and I have fallen into this trap in this review, to be sure.  There are definite positives to be found with Rouna--I like that her expression does seem to change slightly when viewed at different angles.  Even though she does fulfill some otaku checklist items, she doesn't look like a lot of other figures you'll have in your collection already.  She is sturdy--the weight of the figure is a testament to her overall build quality.  She is truly adorable in her vulnerability, and once you divorce the piece from the illustration she's based off of, she is, quite simply said, a good to very-good figure.

Not a great one, though.  I just can't shake the feeling that, ultimately, I would much rather have the girl in the illustration on my shelf than the one I've got.

はい

• Fishnet fabric for stockings
• Heavy build; feels like a quality piece

いいえ

• Paint accuracy around hem of dress is a disaster
• Expression & body language defy original illustration
• Placement of seam on tail begs to be noticed 

Our newest arrival, fresh out of the box.  Review coming soon...

Tony Taka's Xiao Mei by Max Factory

About as good as it gets, whether a fan of Tony Taka, kemonomimi, cheongsam, or just nicely made figures.

Tony Taka's "Shining ______" series aren't the reason I got into figure collecting, but they may be the reason I stay into figure collecting.  There's a certain something about how the proportions of his characters translate into 3D on the shelf that I can't resist.  While the accusation that all of Tony's girls look exactly the same may be warranted--and becomes very difficult to argue against on some occasions--I don't see why that's a bad thing when the end product is this good.

Original illustration from Tony Taka, thanks to Nekomagic.com

Presented in classic nyan-pose, there are some slight variations from the original illustration; it seems there's a little less forehead, the legs are positioned slightly differently, and there's slightly more turn in the torso, but I would suggest that all of these are for the best.  The repositioning allows Xiao Mei's figure to stand out a bit better, and makes her less boxy than the original illo suggests she might be.

Tony Taka said "Knock you out."

The make-or-break for any figure is the face, and there are no concerns to be found with Xiao Mei's.  The coloration of her irises and the reflection in her pupils are exceptional, full of life and personality.  Her eyelashes, nose, and mouth all have been properly tended to and look both great and different from multiple angles. She looks genuinely happy, sassy, and mischievous.  I love the tufts of hair in her nekomimi, white with slight gradation to a peachy pink towards the tips.

From the back, she sports a pair of hair buns with ribbons dangling from the bottom, perhaps a bit too thick and weighty for the application but not a negative worth niggling over.  There is a light seam running across the crown of her head from ear to ear, but again, nothing beyond what one should expect from such a piece.  I'm usually not a fan of Chinese-style headwear but it works for Xiao Mei, and I especially like the lines in her hair, both where it would be parted and pulled into the buns and at the bottom of her hairline on her neck, the imperfect lines of which add to the character's charm.

Well come on, and do the Twist. *bump-bump*

Xiao Mei's body is contained in a colorful cheongsam-style dress cinched at the waist with a mauve ribbon--again, the ribbon seems a little bit too weighty for the application.  If Max Factory applied a slight shimmer to the dress to give a greater impression of a silken fabric, it wouldn't have been a negative, but the application as is is adequate.  A sweet bow on her hip peeks through the slit of her dress, and a subtle flip of the bottom of the dress in back suggests a flirty swish of the hips to get ready for this pose--a little lacy detail rims the white undergarment to match the scalloped edge of her stocking and long glove.

 From the back, the fabric of her dress clings to her lithe shoulder blades and to her posterior.  Her adorably looped and lengthy tail connects to her lower back cleanly; while it's rare to find a figure that applies a tail and makes it look natural, this figure doesn't look unnatural, and that's good enough for me.  The only drawback is that the tail does extend a bit beyond the figure's base, making her take up an extra inch or two of shelf space.  Her stocking does have a bit of a shimmer to it, which only adds to my questioning why the same process wasn't applied to her cheongsam.

Give the people what they want, right?

Xiao Mei is not cast-offable.  She sports a pair of white pantsu underneath her dress, and the sculptor had the mercy and/or good taste to not sculpt each individual aspect of her anatomy.  It is impossible not to comment on the shapeliness of Xiao Mei's buns (not the ones in her hair), though, and the subtle crease and coloration where the upper thigh and glutes connect is simply droolworthy.

In 1/7 scale, Xiao Mei measures approximately 9.5 inches in height and fits in just fine with the other releases of Shining Hearts figures recently released by Kotobukiya, always a concern when characters from the same series are produced by different manufacturers.  You'll only need about 5.25 inches of shelf width to accomodate her, less if you integrate another figure underneath her swishing tail.  She comes with a basic white disc for a base that features the Shining Hearts logo--better than what Kotobukiya's come up for theirs, but I could definitely do without the logo.

There are no gnarly seams to contend with, no inconsistencies with her proportions, no complaints at all when it comes to the lovely Black Tail.  I am not one to pick nits when it comes to things like paint flaws, knowing it is a mass-produced piece one can only expect so much, but I am pleased to say that those flaws are at a bare minimum on this figure.  With the amount of color layering and detail, one would expect the occasional bleed-over, and those are present, but not to such an extend that it takes away from the enjoyment of the figure.  A complete charmer!

はい

• facial expression
• eye coloration
• kinetic swish of hips & tail

いいえ

• Cheongsam coloration less than lively
• Base of figure features series logo